Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Price Target Raised to $322.00

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) had its price target increased by Robert W. Baird from $317.00 to $322.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on LECO. Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $271.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, October 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.11.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ LECO opened at $276.92 on Wednesday. Lincoln Electric has a 52 week low of $216.22 and a 52 week high of $310.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $267.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.00 billion, a PE ratio of 26.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 40.06%. The company’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 11.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 31st will be given a $0.87 dividend. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 31.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 194.1% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Latitude Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer of welding, cutting and industrial automation products. The company serves customers in industries including construction, manufacturing, energy, transportation and heavy equipment.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding equipment, welding consumables such as electrodes and welding wire, plasma-cutting systems, welding accessories and personal protective equipment. Lincoln Electric also provides robotic and automated welding systems, industrial automation solutions, application engineering, training and maintenance services.